


Becoming Complacent

by sunflowerrain10



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 1940s, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Hogwarts, Minor Character Death, Potions, Slow Burn, Time Travel, Time Turner (Harry Potter), War with Grindelwald, Young Tom Riddle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:01:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28133589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowerrain10/pseuds/sunflowerrain10
Summary: "Are we correct to assume you've traveled back in time?"--------------------------------------------Camilla Clearmont was trying to stay as hidden as possible during the second wizarding war. Her family had roped her into getting marked as soon as she turned 16. She had been recovering an old artifact for the Dark Lord when something went wrong.She woke up in 1944, bearing the mark of a dark wizard who was a just a schoolboy. Only Camilla doesn't know that she's attending school with the young Dark Lord, Tom Riddle. Escaping one war, Camilla Clearmont finds herself caught in a web of Grindelwald's war and the Knights of Walpurgis. Not to mention, constantly facing the ghosts of her past.
Relationships: Tom Riddle/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

“Come on! We have to keep moving. You know he won’t care for any excuses. It’d just be another excuse to torture you,” Theo said.

Camilla snapped out of her trance and continued running, following Theo to the deserted cabin.

An assignment.

  
An artifact of some sort, they didn’t know what it was. But He needed it, so they had to go get it.

Running into the house, Camilla searched, looking for anything of significance.

“Woah. I didn’t realize how high up we are,” Theo murmured as he peered out the window in the back of the cabin.

Camilla continued to search as she ran her hands across the wall, tapping the shelves, pushing anything to try to trigger an opening.

“It’s pointless Cami. He sent us on a wild good chase.”

“No. There’s got to be something here. I- No. It can’t be for nothing,” Camilla replied.

“This is stupid. Just call Draco, he’d be able to help,” Theo sighed, “Cami we are quite literally the worst Death Eaters he has. Neither of us want to do this. We get sent on suicide missions just so that he can torture our families for our failures when we get return empty handed. It’s not even worth it any-”

_Crack_

“Shit.” Camilla took a step back

“Cami what did you do?” Theo shouted as he raced towards her.

“God. I don’t know. I was just leaning on the desk and it popped open.”

“Well, you opened it so you can go see what it is,” Theo said, slowly backing away from the dark tunnel.

“Fine, if I die, I’ll come back and kill you,” Cami replied as she walked down the tunnel.

“If you die, I’ll hold you to that”

“ _Lumos_ ” The tunnel lit up as Cami walked down the hallway.

Deep breaths Cami. It’s good. You're fine, it's fine.

  
The tunnel came to an end at a small circular room. A single brown wood table set in the center of the room. On top, a nondescript brown box, unlocked.

Tentatively, Cami approached the table. Under her breath, she cast several diagnostic spells, nothing came back. She opened the box and jumped back.

But nothing happened.

She approached the table again, shakily peering into the box. She scoffed. A necklace.

All this work for a stupid necklace on a gold chain. She gingerly picked it up.

“Theo!’ she hollered, “This was stupid. It’s a necklace. A stupid, fucking necklace.”

She jogged out of the tunnel.

“I can’t believe we went through all that for a fucking necklace. It’s an ugly one too.”

“Language, Cami,” Theo teased as she handed the necklace to Theo.

“Cami. You’re an idiot,” Theo stated plainly.

Cami glared at him, “What did I do this time?”

“This isn’t a necklace. This is a timeturner. But it’s a really advanced one. With this, you could go back over a hundred years. Cami if the Dark Lord gets his hands on this everyone is royally fucked,” Theo started to pace, “We have to call them. This is getting out of hand Cami.”

“I know,” Cami replied, “I know.”

“ _Expecto Patronum_ ”

Cami’s leopard shot out of her wand.

“Take a message to George. Tell him it’s almost too far.”

Just as her leopard shot off, the two of them heard the door swing open.

Cami silently gestured to Theo as she slowly crept towards the door. She cast a Disillusionment Charm on the two of them and slipped the timeturner around her neck.

They were just in front of the window when they saw the others.  
“Good thing Moody warded the place. He knew You-Know-Who would try to come. Did you set the wards?” the red-head asked.

“Of course I did. I’m not stupid,” she replied.

Theo’s eyes widened as he looked at Cami.

“We have to go,” Theo mouthed to Cami silently.

“Obviously,” she mouthed back.

Then, they heard it.

_Homenum Revelio_

Their charm wore off, their cover blown.

“I know them,” the girl stated, “Theodore Nott and Camilla Courtier. They were in Ron’s year. Slytherins”

“Death Eaters,” the red-head replied.

Camilla stepped in front of Theo, keeping her wand concealed.

“We aren’t the enemy. We are on your side”

The two Order members stared at her.

“We switched sides. Flipped. We are only in communication with two Order members, George Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt,” Cami explained, hands held out in front of her.

“Charlie, she’s lying. George would’ve told us. They’d say anything to save themselves,” the girl spit out.

She raised her wand at Camilla.

_Avad-_

“NO” Theo shouted, throwing a non-verbal stunner at the girl.

“ _Stupefy_ ” A red beam shot out of Charlie’s wand.

Straight at Theodore’s chest. It felt like the world stopped. The moment in the movie when all the sound cuts out and all that can be heard is a scream.

Camilla’s scream, as she watched Theo’s body fly out of the window.

“No!” she shrieked, “How could you!? He was one of the good ones. He didn’t want this life. How - He didn’t do anything.”

Her world felt like it was spinning, her magic was pulsing through her veins. Her rage buzzing around her.

She raised her wand at the red-head, curses running through her mind, which to use first.

Unbeknownst to Camilla, the girl had woken up.

“ _Stupefy_ ”

Shot straight at Camilla’s chest, hitting the timeturner square in the center.

A flash of white light engulfed Camilla. Then, she was gone.

“Where did she go, Charlie”

“I don’t know.”


	2. Chapter 2

_What is happening?_

_Why am I falling?_

_Am I dying?_

_Is this death?_

_Please let this be death._

Camilla’s internal thoughts spiraled out of control, until she landed on a hard, wood floor. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Not death. 

As her eyes adjusted to her surroundings, she saw that she was in the same cabin as before. Only there was furniture. 

She shot up and looked around the room.

“Theo!”

“Theo, please,” her voice broke. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.” She broke down. 

She didn’t know how long she spent crying, repeating apologies to Theo, to all her freinds, threats to the Order. 

Gasping for air. 

Tears flowing down her face. 

She didn’t know how long she sat there, head in her hands. 

“I’ve got to go find someone.”

She apparated out of the cabin to the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Daphne had always said if she needed anything there was a backdoor inside of the boutique her family owned. 

Looking down at herself, Camilla grimaced. Her black death eater robes had been torn up, the mask she had stowed in her pocket was cracked in two. She rolled up her left sleeve to look at her forearm. The dark mark that had never truly taken looked faded at best. The snake wasn’t moving anymore. 

_Was he dead?_

She approached Hogsmeade to find the village in the state it had been when she first visited at age 13. There was no destruction. She could see the Three Broomsticks open with witches and wizards sharing a butterbeer. Honeydukes’ workers were creating sweets that filled the air with a dulcet aroma. 

She continued to look at all of the shops that were still there until she stopped at the newspaper stand outside of the bookshop. 

A man with almost white hair stared back at her, looking over a village in ruin. 

**Grindelwald Continues to Rampage Parts of Europe. Where is the Ministry?**

Camilla froze. 

Grindelwald. 

Grindelwald who was defeated in the 1940s. 

Grindelwald who wasn’t even a threat where she was from. 

Shit. 

Camilla frantically pulled the gold chain around her neck. 

No. 

_This can’t be happening._

The timeturner was shattered. The sand inside the hourglass was gone. 

On her chest, there was a light blue mark. 

A small circle with specks of blue surrounding the main circle. Blue veins spanning across her chest, forming an intricate web overtop of her heart.

“Oh my god.”

Her world started spinning. She grabbed a newspaper and shoved it in her bag. Her legs began to shake beneath her as she staggered towards the boutique.

Ignoring the judgemental stares her clothing was getting, she stumbled into the back of the shop. 

“It’s here somewhere,” she muttered under her breath.

As she ran her hand against the back wall, she felt her hand roll over a small knob in the wall. 

“Gotcha” 

She twisted the knob to the right and then pushed it in. Slowly, the a door slid open. Glancing behind her to make sure she wasn’t seen, Camilla slid into the room. 

_Daphne wasn’t lying. This place had everything._

Camilla started pacing around the room, gathering everything she could from the room. 

As she slipped into a change of clothes, she cast an extension charm on her bag, widening the bag to fit everything she needed.

She dumped galleons from a large box, enough to fund her expenses for at least three years. 

Glancing around the room, she slipped her death eater robes and mask into her bag. 

_Well I don’t think I’ll be needing those anymore._

She pulled the crumpled newspaper out of her bag. 

**September 1, 1943**.

Over half a century back in the past. 

Physically and emotionally drained, Camilla passed out on the floor of the room. 

___________________________________________________________________

The next day, Camilla decided to venture to Hogwarts. 

_I couldn’t complete my seventh year because of the Death Eaters and I spent my sixth year skipping classes to fix a damn cabinet. I might as well go to school, actually do sixth year. I was young for my age anyway, being born in August._

She apparated herself right outside the Hogwarts wards. The entrance to the castle looked just like it did when she was a first year. But the castle looked nothing like the last time she had seen it. 

Hagrid’s Hut was empty, but not burned down. The towers at the top of the castle were still in shape, not chipping off the edges. The quidditch pitch still had all six hoops and the stands surrounding it. 

She could almost imagine she was back on the team playing. Graham Montaugue on one side, Cassius Warrington on the other, flying towards the goals. Her mind drifted to her past, or the future. 

“Excuse me.”

Camilla turned around. Standing right in front of her was a younger, but very much alive Albus Dumbledore. All she could think about was that night in the astronomy tower. 

_She’d never felt so afraid. She could see the tremors in Draco’s hand, pointing his wand at Albus Dumbledore._

_“Don’t you get it. We have to kill you. Or he’s going to kill us,” Draco spit out through clenched teeth._

_Before either of them could get out the spell, Bellatrix and her cronies flew up the stairs. She placed her hand on Draco’s shoulder, dragging her wand up as she did._

_“Well done Draco. Well done Camilla. I’ve trained you well.”_

_Camilla looked over at Draco as Bellatrix sauntered over to Dumbledore, taunting him._

_“I can’t do it,” Draco whispered to Camilla._

_“Yes you can. You know the incantation,” Camilla shot back._

_“Cami, I. Can’t. Kill. Him. You have to mean it and I’ll fail. I know I will. You know what happens if I fail.”_

_As Bellatrix turned around Camilla raised her wand._

_“Avada Kedavra”_

“Miss, are you a student here.”

All Camilla saw was the green curse from her wand. 

“I’m sorry,” she stammered in reply, “I didn’t catch that”

He looked down at her sympathetically, “Of course, are you a student here? I did not here of any transfers”

“Oh.”

Camilla quickly ran her brain for a cover story. 

“I-. I got hit by a curse and it sent me back in time,” she flinched slightly, waiting for a response. 

“I see. You went to Beauxbatons in France but you had to leave because of the war,” she paused. “You and your friends were close to the war sir. You lost track of where they were but I had heard about Hogwarts from a friend’s mother.”

Camilla blinked slowly. Her brain still reeling. 

“Yes.”

“Could you give me a name?”

“Camilla, Camilla Clearmont.”

Dumbledore nodded his head. 

“Follow me Ms. Clearmont. At Hogwarts, we sort students into houses.”


	3. Chapter 3

Camilla trailed behind Dumbledore. She tucked her wand into her holster, next to the set of blades inside her jacket. Her shoes clicking against the stone as she followed a much younger version of Dumbledore. 

He didn’t know about what she had done, and she planned to keep it that way. When his back was turned, Camilla wordlessly and wandlessly cast another glamour charm over her left forearm, and another one over her sternum and chest just in case. 

“Here we are Ms. Clearmont. The Headmaster’s office. Classes started yesterday so we will just have to sort you here,” Dumbledore stated as he approached the entrance to the Headmasters office. 

A large, golden griffon stood in front of the two of them. 

“Gumdrop”

The griffon started to spin into a winding spiral staircase. Camilla’s eyes followed the young professor as he walked up the stairs. He paused, looking back at her expectantly with a bit of a twinkle in his eye like he’d had her first year at Hogwarts. The time traveler snapped out of her trance and followed up the stairs. Tracing her hand up the golden railing as she went, she could feel the intricate carvings in the stairway as she ran her fingers over the side. As she finished her climb, she entered the large office she hadn’t been in since her fifth year. 

“Armando, I seem to have stumbled across a transfer student. I believe her official transfer must have slipped through the cracks during this trying time,” he glanced back to see the small witch hovering behind him. 

The headmaster looked up from his desk and glanced over to the young girl. He rummaged through the papers on his desk, muttering slightly under his breath as he did so. The headmaster eventually stopped his search, rose from his desk, and folded his eyeglass while placing them in his pocket. 

“My apologies Albus. It appears you are correct. I don’t seem to have any record of receiving a transfer student. What did you say your name was,” Headmaster Dippet said, glancing once more at the brunette in the corner. 

“He didn’t,” Camilla replied, speaking for the first time since she encountered Dumbledore.

“My name is Camilla Clearmont. I had been attending Beauxbatons in France but because of the war. I was forced to pause my education to aid in the effort last May. Unfortunately, I got separated from my friends and was unable to locate them. One of their parents had gone to Hogwarts and told me about the school and how it felt like a second home to her. I’m sorry. I’m rambling.”

The Headmaster paused, his eyes softening as he looked at the transfer. He began to nod.

“Of course Ms. Clearmont. I assume Professor Dumbledore told you about how we sort into our houses here at Hogwarts,” Dippet looked over at Camilla as she nodded, “Wonderful, I am going to go grab the Sorting Hat from the shelf if you could take a seat in that chair.” 

Camilla pulled the chair out from the desk, slowly sinking into the cushion while she waited for the Headmaster to return. While she waited, she looked over at the transfiguration professor. She returned a weak smile to the professor as the Headmaster walked into the room. 

“Here you go Ms. Clearmont. When I put this on your head, you will hear a voice in your head while he sorts you into your house.” Camilla nodded as she felt the hat being lowered onto her head. 

_“Oh my dear. A bit old to be sorted aren’t you”_

_“I’m a transfer,” Camilla thought back._

_“You are going to have to lower those Occlumency shields for me to sort you.”_

Camilla visibly grimaced. 

_“Come on. We don’t have all day. There we go. Have we been here before?”_

_“Oh, I- um-”_

_“Not to worry, let’s look. You have some bravery, turning against the man that burned that into your arm. But you don’t seem to think of it as bravery”_

_“Merlin, if I’m in Gryffindor,” Camilla could just hear the ridicule from George, unbelieving she would be a Gryffindor._

_“Don’t worry. Gryffindor isn’t the place for you. Creative, yes, yes. You could thrive in Ravenclaw. Wise beyond your years, enough to fool that man you served. But you have done unfathomable things for many other than Slytherins. You’ve killed, used curses darker than most even know exist. You could use the resources the house has to offer. But you didn’t want to live on edge again do you? Tell me, what do you want most right now?”_

_Without missing a beat, Camilla answered the hat._

_“To escape”_

_The hat paused._

_“Yes”_

“Better be, Hufflepuff” Camilla was shocked. She’d expected to be tossed back to the snakes after everything she’d done. She was a stark contrast to the idea of loyalty through her status as a spy. She’d thought she may go to Ravenclaw, but never Hufflepuff. Dumbledore looked somewhat relieved, as if somewhere else would have been an issue. Camilla wasn’t unaware of the professor’s distaste for Slytherins. After all, he gave Gryffindor over 200 points the day before the House Cup just to stop Slytherin from getting it.

“Well, there you have it Ms. Clearmont. Welcome to Hufflepuff. The badgers will be lucky to have you. Albus, if you would be so kind as to fetch Ms. Abbott,” the Headmaster turned to face Camilla, “Ms. Abbott is the Prefect for Hufflepuff in your year. I believe she is missing a roommate as her previous roommate recently moved to the United States.”

Camilla nodded, still trying to process the fact that she was a bloody Hufflepuff. If only Theo could see her now.

_“Aw Cami, you big softy. Yellows not really your color now is it”_

Her heart hurt. She blinked back tears as she turned to face her old headmaster.

“I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity sir,” Camilla said softly, looking at Professor Dumbledore. 

His eyes had that familiar twinkle reserved only for Gryffindors in the 90s. 

“Of course my dear, you remind me of someone I knew many years ago. Hufflepuff is lucky to have someone as strong as you who has survived so much,” he paused, winking at her, “Although I believe you have been through much, much more than anyone your age should have gone through, even though I don’t know the half of it I’m sure. After all, your past is much more intriguing than anyone can imagine. Although, some things are better left unsaid, my dear.”

  
Camilla nodded, basking in the advice she’d never gotten during her time at Hogwarts. The large door swung open once more, revealing the Headmaster, a rather plump looking teacher, and a tall, blonde girl. 

“Ms. Clearmont, this is Ms. Bridgette Abbott and Professor Bruin, head of Hufflepuff house and the Herbology professor. Ms. Abbott here is going to show you around the castle and your new room.” 

The blonde moved first, holding her hand out to the brunette. 

“Hiya, I’m Bridgette Abbott,” her voice was soft but not unsure. Camilla reached back to shake her hand. 

“Camilla, Camilla Clearmont.” Camilla turned to Professor Bruin to introduce herself again. 

“Hello, thank you again for letting me attend school here,” extending her hand out to the Professor. She was met with a firm handshake. 

“It’s no problem at all. If Albus says you need a place at our school, who am I to question him. Although, there is the question of what classes you are going to take. I presume you took the O.W.L.S. last year?” Professor Bruin asked, looking straight at Camilla. 

“Actually no. At Beauxbatons we test in our sixth year rather than in our fifth. I took my final exams fifth year, however, and I had narrowed my classes down that way. If that’s okay,” Camilla’s voice trailed off as she looked at the teacher. 

“Oh silly me, I forgot Beauxbatons is a bit different. Not to worry, whatever classes you were taking is fine. If any of them prove to be too difficult, you are welcome to drop them.”

“Thank you Professor. I was taking Transfisfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures.”

Professor Bruin blinked. “Well that’s quite a lot of classes. And somehow you managed to miss the one I teach.”

Camilla cringed, “I’m sorry Professor. Plants aren’t really my forte. After an unfortunate experience with devil’s snare and mandrakes I’m afraid I’ve had my fill of magical plants, at least at such an extreme level.”

“Devil’s snare! My goodness Ms. Clearmont what _do_ you study over in France? Nevermind that, I am sure you will do lovely in the 8 classes you’ve selected. Let me go and put that into a timetable. Feel free to chat with Bridgette while I put your schedule together,” Professor Bruin turned around and pulled out a quill and parchment and began to construct a schedule. 

“Wow. Eight classes, that’s a lot even for a Ravenclaw. There’s only a handful of students taking more than 6. Good luck, maybe your French charm will help you,” Bridgette teased the new student. 

Camilla thought about her next words carefully. While she was technically French in this life, she’d grown up in Spain over the summers. Living in Spain, she should have truly gone to Beauxbatons, but her parents went to Hogwarts so she had to as well. 

“Technically I am French but I actually lived in Spain for longer. My French is truly dreadful but Beauxbatons is the only school for those in Spain as well,” Camilla paused for a second, trying to gauge the prefect’s reaction. 

“I would not have guessed you were from Spain. You look more French, maybe even of Eastern descent,” Bridgette’s voice trailed off, seemingly in thought. 

Camilla chuckled, “I’m not of any Spanish descent. My parents' jobs forced us there when I was young so I learned the language while living there. I must admit, my Spanish has gotten a bit rusty over the years.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you decide to transfer during your sixth year? Especially since you hadn’t taken any of the exams?” Bridgette questions. 

Here it goes. 

“Last May, many of the Beauxbatons students were caught amidst the war. My friends and I were as well. I lost them during the war and Hogwarts was the only place I’d heard that would possibly be safe for me. My parents had already passed. I was staying with one of my friend’s grandparents when everything happened. I am thankful that Professor Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet have allowed me to stay,” Camilla finally stopped talking. She’d even managed to muster up a few tears while she shared her faux war story. 

The blonde looked horrified. 

“You must be so brave to go through all of that. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like. I can assure you, you will feel right at home with us here at Hogwarts. Not to mention, maybe we can get you a nice boy to help you feel better,” Bridgette said, grinning mischievously as she lightly bumped Camilla.

Camilla’s pale face reddened. 

“I mean, I’d like to at least get settled into my classes before I think about that,” Camilla tried to say with some semblance of confidence. She wasn’t inexperienced per say when it came to boys. She’d dated around for a bit before she had to get marked. After she took the mark, she sank into a hole, finding solace in Theo who was one of her only true friends at the time. They had not been romantically compatible, definitely not in love. But there was a sort of physical compatibility between the two. Friends with benefits sounds cliche but that’s what it was. Of course, until she got sent whirling back in time, back to a time where Theo was not even a thought in someone’s mind. 

Before their conversation could continue, Professor Bruin returned with a timetable for Camilla. 

“Here you go my dear, it looks like you have several classes with Miss Abbott here,” the professor turned to face Bridgette, “Take good care of our new arrival alright? Don’t scare her off too quickly.” Bridgette blushed slightly at that comment.

“Of course, Professor,” motioning to Camilla, “Come along. I’ll give you a short tour of the castle before we head down for dinner.” Timetable and bag in hand, Camilla turned to Bridgette and began the descent out of the office, tracing her fingers over the carvings in the railings once more. 

“Oh, Camilla. I forgot where are your bags? Or do you only have the one?” Camilla simply stared in response. “Oh I don’t mean to be rude, it's just that the bag is, well, it’s rather small, isn’t it?”

Camilla recovered quickly, looked over her shoulder, and decided to tell a partial version of the truth. “I may have put an extension charm as well as a weightless charm on the bag when I was in the war. It was easier than trying to lug around heavy items everywhere we went.”

“Wow. Maybe you should’ve been in Ravenclaw, eh! That’s where all the smart people go. Of course I’m hoping you're much more interesting than them. Well, you’ve already been to the Headmaster’s office so I won’t bother with that. If you come with me this way, you can see all the classrooms. It is a bit difficult to keep your head on straight in this castle, at least for the first week or so, so don’t be afraid to just ask someone if you are lost,” she paused, looking up while thinking, “Actually, on second thought, if they are wearing a green tie maybe refrain from asking them. They seem to have a bit of a problem with anyone who isn’t a snake as well. Slytherin house has a mascot of a snake. Not the best for one’s reputation but what can you do.”

Camilla’s mind had already begun to wander. She was quite attuned to her surroundings and was not oblivious to the stares she was getting as she passed by groups of people. It was obvious that she was out-of-place at the school. Some groups even went as far as to gesture in her direction. Nothing crude, but still, the least they could is try to be subtle about their staring. Camilla continued to follow Bridgette until they reached the basement, near the kitchens. She began to refocus on Bridgette’s voice. 

“-And here we have our common room. We don’t have a password to the room itself, just these barrels here. All you have to do is, here-” the blonde paused for a second and took out her wand. 

“Tap the barrels middle twice, top once, bottom twice, to the pattern of Helga Hufflepuff.” Camilla watched as the prefect tapped the barrels in the pattern and watched as the door slowly slid open. The interior of the room was almost blindingly yellow. Camilla didn’t find it nearly as head-ache inducing as she’d expected. 

The room was, of course, yellow, but not an obnoxious shade of it. The common room was homey. There were couches everywhere. Students were huddled around each other. Some playing wizards chess, some doing homework, and others simply conversing with their friends over the start of the school year. 

“Oi. Abbott. Care to introduce us to your friend,” a voice shouted, belonging to a mousy-haired boy sitting on one of the couches. 

“Oi, Diggory. Care to finally use those manners and ask nicely,” Bridgette shot straight back at him. 

The boy rose from the couch and gave a silly, dramatic boy to Bridgette. 

“Milady, Daniel Diggory at your service. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. May I inquire as to your name? That is, if I do not come across to forward,” Daniel jokingly said, while extending a hand to Camilla as if he expected her to kiss it. 

“Camilla Clearmont. Do drop the act, would you?” she responded while shaking his hand, instead of kissing it. Several of the others around the room chuckled slightly at the newcomers behavior. Bridgette grabbed her arm with a smile. “Ignore Daniel, we all do. I’m going to get you situated in our room okay? While we don’t have a password on our common room entrance, we do have passwords to get into each dorm room. Ours is Phoenix. I’ve always found them fascinating. Well- and, your welcome to change it if you-”

“No, it’s perfect,” Camilla interrupted, remembering Fawkes from her time. Camilla repeated the password to the small portrait in front of her dorm as the door swung open. The left side of the room had been overtaken by all of the Prefect's personal belongings. It amazed her how one person could be so messy. Then again, she remembered the mess some of the quidditch boys would leave in the common room after a late night party. 

She took the small purse off of her shoulders and began to unpack her belongings. She filled the shelves up with books she’d taken from the room at the boutique. Dresses, shirts, skirts, pants, and undergarments all came flying out and into the closet as Camilla put together her side of the room. Finally content with all of her items, she slipped into her robes, donning her new yellow tie, perfectly matching the badger patch on her robes. 

“Cami!” Bridgette yelled from across the room, “Can I call you Cami? Anyways, dinner is like now and I am a very hungry person and I get very mad when I do not get my food so it is within your best interest to get your ass down here right now so help me Merlin.”

Her voice was cut off by Camilla opening the door, “Circe you don’t have to scream. Yes, you can call me Cami. And by all means, let us go to dinner.”


	4. Chapter 4

Not surprisingly, the Great Hall looked exactly the same. Of course, aside from the obvious difference that she was sitting at the Hufflepuff table. Her feet had almost led her to the green and silver table simply out of habit. The badger’s dinnertime discussions were a breath of fresh air compared to the typical dinner conversations of her past.

Gone was Draco’s fear of failure.  
Gone was Theo’s not so subtle glances around the room before he would claw at his mark.  
Gone was Daphne’s watchful eye on Astoria, as to make sure she didn’t get involved with the wrong sort, like she had.  
Gone was all of the young snake’s discomfort at the glare of Saint Potter and his merry band of followers at ever given hour.

The constant, silent looks exchanged between the unfortunate few who were unlucky enough to have been marked. The group of teens who had to pay for the failures of their parents. At those meals, Camilla would have been lucky to eat even half a plate of food before becoming sick over the things she had done, or the things she would have to do.

Instead, Camilla found herself surrounded by a rather rambunctious, but amusing group of people. Pulling her from her thoughts, Camilla caught the end of someone’s sentence.

“....play yourself, Clearmont,” the mousy-haired boy from before inquired. Camilla had no idea what he was asking.

“Pardon? I missed that,” Camilla replied, sounding far too much like Pansy for her own liking.

“You’re a posh one, aren’t you? I was asking if you played quidditch. I’m a chaser on the team,” Daniel said, puffing out his chest as though this was the biggest accomplishment in all the world.

_“Alright boys, and Clearmont, this is my last year playing. You better make it worth my while is all I’m saying,” Marcus Flint said, from his elevated position on the bench in the locker room._

_“Aye aye, Captain,” Montague and Warrington recited, poking fun at their fellow senior and his seriousness about the sport.. Draco rolled his eyes, elbowing Camilla. Crabbe and Goyle looked like they would quite literally crush anyone who walked on the field._

_“This is no time for jokes. Like I said yesterday, obviously, Draco, your job is to find the snitch-”_

_“And here I thought I was supposed to tightrope walk across the field”_

_Flint didn’t even bother to respond nor acknowledge Draco’s attempt at humor._   
_“Clearmont, Montague, Warrington. You need to pass as much as you can under the broom. Ravenclaw may be fast, but they are no match for your skills. And for the love, Warrington, stay on your damn broom so help me I will play a man down, do you hear me?”_

_“Loud and clear, Flint,” Warrington muttered, still bitter about one of the Weasley twins knocking him off his broom in the last game._

_“Crabbe, Goyle, aim for Chang, she’s their seeker. I don’t know the names of the chasers. Blonde chick, she can’t throw farther than 5 feet, use that to your advantage,” Flint took a breath and looked at the other players, “All of you should remember that.”_

_“Clearmont, I’m expecting you to score a lot today. You're faster than anyone else, and not just because of your ungodly expensive broom. So, for your dear captain, score so that it doesn’t even matter if Malfoy catches the snitch.”_

_“And what will you be doing, Flint,” Montague jokingly questioned the captain, cocking an eyebrow and smirking._

_“I, Montague, will be saving the goals that get past our sorry excuses for beaters.”_

_“Camilla? Hey Camilla. I lost you again”_

That certainly snapped Camilla out of her memory, out of her pity party for one.

“I play a bit. I was a chaser back at Beauxbatons but I haven’t played in a while for obvious reasons.”

“Wait, what reasons? Did Beauxbatons stop playing quidditch,” a different girl asked from across the table. Camilla paused to look at the other witch. For a witch, she bore an unfortunately uncanny resemblance to Zaccharias Smith from her time.

“Clarence!” the familiar voice of Bridgette Abbott rang out, seeming distraught that someone would say that, “I’m so sorry Camilla. Clarence doesn’t know-”

“Hey, it’s all good. She must not have been there when I told everyone,” Camilla paused to look at the other girl, “I had to leave Beauxbatons to fight in the war. So, no quidditch for me,” Camilla’s voice trailed off somewhat weakly.

“Oh,” Clarence replied with a voice softer than a mouse’s.

“And I’ve successfully ruined dinner in under ten minutes,” Camilla muttered.

“You have not Cami,” Bridgette assured her, “We are simply not used to having someone who was so close to the war. Not to mention I completely forgot to introduce you to everyone. Camilla, meet your fellow sixth year badgers. You already met Daniel Diggory,” gesturing to the mousy-haired boy from earlier, “This is Clarence Smith,” pointing across the table to the previous girl.

Maybe she was related to Zaccharias after all.

“Here you’ve got Ryan McMillan, Alexander Fulton, Samuel or Sam Trebits, and Jackson Turpin,” Bridgette listed off, pointing to the four other boys around them.

“And onto the girls, Mindy Sanders, Ava Kipset, and Gina George,” the prefect finished as she looked back to Camilla.

Just as Camilla began to introduce herself, she was interrupted by a rather loud voice of the headmaster.

“Students, I am sure you all are excited to be settling into your dorms and classes this year. I wanted to make a brief announcement to you all,” his eyes scanning over the room to find Camilla Clearmont.

Camilla had never more wanted to disappear.

“If I disillusion myself, will he stop and ignore it,” Camilla whispered furiously to Bridgette.

“I don’t think that’s your best course of action Cami, especially not since he’s already started his speech.”

‘Of-fucking-course not,” Camilla grumbled.

Their attention returned to the headmaster.

“We are welcoming a transfer student from Beauxbatons Academy, Miss Camilla Clearmont, who has just been sorted into Hufflepuff. Miss Clearmont is here seeking refuge from the raging was so please assist her in any way she needs as she acclimates to all of the changes at this time,” the headmaster finished, but not before gesturing to Camilla just in case there had been any confusion as to who the new student was.

“Could that have been any more embarrassing,” Camilla muttered as she reached for a roll across the table while the plates in front of her.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other students were buzzing with the news of a new student, especially over at Camilla’s old table.

“See Avery, I told you that we hadn’t just missed her in the past five years. Trust me, I wouldn’t have forgotten someone like her,” a raven-haired boy stated, talking to the boy sitting next to him.

“Always the crude one weren’t you Black,” Avery retorted, shaking his head slightly at his friend. It seemed everyone at the table was talking about her.

“I’m just not seeing why it’s Hogwarts' problem that she got herself caught on the wrong side of the war. Next thing you know our school is going to be filled with even more mudbloods than it already is,” a witch sitting near the other boys said flippantly.

“Come on, Ella. You don’t even know her,” her friend protested with her. The two quickly became absorbed in a conversation about their summers and their life of problems.

“What do you think of her, Tom?” a Draco look-alike said with the trademark Slytherin smirk on his face. “A new student pops up, out of nowhere, having fought in a war either against or with the most - one of the most dark wizards of all time.” Abraxas Malfoy flushed slightly at the lapse in judgement and slip in his vocabulary. Luckily for him, Tom either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“She’s in Hufflepuff. She can’t possibly be skilled in any way that would be helpful if she’s there,” the Slytherin prefect replied, looking up from his book for the first time during the dinner to glance over at the new arrival, only to see someone approaching the transfer.

“Would you look at that fellas. Potter is already making moves on the new girl. 5 galleons says he strikes out,” Avery said, sliding into the conversation.

“You’ve got it all wrong mate,” Lestrange replied shaking his head, “She’s been fighting in a war. She’ll seek comfort from him. I’ll take that action.”

All of the Slytherin’s eyes followed the interaction, watching as the Gryffindor approached the Hufflepuff table, sights set on Camilla Clearmont.

“Well as fun as this has been gentlemen, I am going to go to the common room for the night,” Tom Riddle drawled, grabbing his book and walking out of the hall, missing what transpired at the Hufflepuff table.

The others quickly turned their attention back to the unfurling scene. They watched as Charlus Potter made his way over to the Hufflepuff table before tapping Camilla on the shoulder. Camilla turned around to face the other boy. The group of boys couldn’t get a good enough look to see what was on Camilla’s face, but they didn’t need to. Anyone could see how every bone in Camilla’s body tensed up. She froze completely. The fork she was holding in her hand clattered to the table as she stood up abruptly and bolted out of the Great Hall.

Avery reached a hand out to Lestrange. “Never doubt how pathetic Gryffindors are at flirting my friend.”

Lestrange grumbled something unintelligible under his breath as he handed over 5 galleons to Avery.

* * *

Camilla was enjoying the change in scenery at the Hufflepuff table. She found herself even sharing funny stories as she sat around with her new peers.

“-Like those swords you put in cocktails right? Well, I had a friend who would collect them, charm them, and then put them on the pawns of the wizard’s chess board,” Camilla chuckled as she shared a story about her good friend George while the rest of Hufflepuff burst into laughter.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want. Wait til I figure out how to do it to your set. I know how to not get stabbed by one of the little pawn dickheads. You guys won’t. You’ll be in for a rude awakening when-” Camilla’s tirade was cut off by someone tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around and her heart stopped. All the blood drained from her face. She completely froze. The boy didn’t seem to notice.

“Hello. I thought I would introduce myself. I’m Charlus Potter. I am in my sixth year as well. Gryffindor, obviously,” as he gestured to the red and gold tie hanging loosely around his neck, “I was hoping I could give you a tour of Hogwarts sometimes. Focusing on the more interesting parts than what you’ve been shown already.”

The fork from Camilla’s hand clattered to the table. All the other Hufflepuffs noticed. Bridgette’s eyes filled with concern.

“Cami? Hey are you ok?” But it was too late, her mind had already begun to trap itself in a memory she had tried so damn hard to hide.

_She was standing on the edge of the Astronomy Tower, inside one of the worst nights of her life._   
_“Well done little girl. Or should I be calling itty bitty Malfoy the girl now? You’ve done well. You’ve made our Lord proud,” Bellatrix let out one of her signature, lunatic cackles as she bound down the stairs, the Carrows and Greyback following her, leaving only Draco, herself and Snape._   
_“Miss Clearmont, I hope you know the gravity of what you just did,” Snape said in a not unsympathetic way._   
_Camilla couldn’t even form a sentence._   
_“We need to leave Miss Clearmont. Draco and I will be downstairs. Please do hurry.” Snape and Draco exited the tower, leaving Camilla alone to her thoughts. What the two men didn’t know, was that Camilla was not all alone. Snape had forgotten about the green-eyed, messy-haired wizarding savior hiding downstairs. And Harry Potter was nothing if not a strong defender of those he cared for, including Dumbledore._

_Camilla was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t even hear him walk up the stairs. She didn’t hear anything he said until a spell of his sent her blasting across the room. She landed in the corner of the Astronomy Tower with a thud._

_Harry seemed hauntingly calm. “I trusted you. Did you know that? When you told me Draco wasn’t a Death Eater? I trusted you. I believed what you said,” his voice slowly started rising in volume, “You made me seem like I was crazy for even suggesting that students could become marked Death Eaters. But I guess you wouldn’t have been surprised at all.”_

_Camilla refused to meet his eyes._

_“No Clearmont. You don’t get to take the easy way out of this. Look at me and tell me why you did it,” he paused._

_“FUCKING LOOK AT ME CAMILLA,” his voice shouted, echoing across the room as everything started to erupt out of him._

_“Why? How could you do this to me, to us, to your friends? Your new merry group of psychopaths wants nothing more than to kill everyone who isn’t one of them. You can’t possibly want that Clearmont. You may be a pretentious snob but you're not a supremacist. Are you?” his voice began to falter but it quickly regained its cold tone as he stalked over to Camilla’s crumpled form, harshly grabbing her left arm and lifting up the shirt._

_“Ha,” he laughed humorlessly, “I guess you were who I should’ve been worried about. I guess you are one of them. Nothing more than a killer. Nothing more than an idiotic school girl who just does everything Mommy and Daddy say, even if it means following a dark wizard right?” Harry shook his head. “I can’t believe I ever wasted my time trusting you.”_

_“Harry. Please,” Camilla rasped out, unable to form more than those two words apparently._

_“No. You don’t get to make this right. They’d taken everything away from me. I always thought Dumbledore would be stronger than Voldemort. But then you came and ruined it. I can’t look at you anymore. I can’t be around you anymore, ever.” the messy-haired boy with piercing green eyes and glasses stalked out of the room, leaving Camilla slumped against the wall._

It all came crashing down on her as she looked up at the messy-haired boy and glasses. The boy who had a boyish grin on his face. A grin that hadn’t been tainted by the death of his parents, the loss of his godfather, and the betrayal of his friend. A face that didn’t have piercing green eyes, but caring brown ones, looking down at her.

All Camilla could see was the look of disappointment on Harry’s face. The look that was quickly replaced with rage. It was too much for Camilla. Her head was pounding, and her world was spinning.

_I trusted you, did you know that?_

_FUCKING LOOK AT ME CAMILLA._

_How could you do this to me, to our friends?_

_I guess you were who I should’ve been worried about._

_Nothing more than an idiotic school girl who just does everything Mommy and Daddy say_

_I can’t believe I ever wasted my time trusting you._

_I can’t look at you anymore._

_I can’t be around you anymore, ever_

_Can’t be around you anymore, ever_

_Can’t be around you_

_Can’t be around_

_Can’t be_

_Can’t_

“I can’t be around you anymore,” Camilla gasped, snapping out of her trance. Unable to look at the man who bore the face of Harry Potter, she ran out of the Great Hall, ignoring the blatant stares from everyone else. Ignoring the perplexed look on Charlus Potter’s face. Camilla ran.

“Wow Potter. I may not be as roguishly handsome as you, but even I’ve never had a girl flat out run away from me,” Daniel Diggory awkwardly jested, trying to diffuse the tense air surrounding the spot where Camilla once was.

She ran to the only place she had found solace during her fifth year fixing the cabinet. Her feet pulling her up flights of stairs, turning corners she wasn’t supposed to know to turn, but she didn’t care.

She was in a trance, heading straight for the girl’s bathroom on the second floor. Her chest was tightening with every breath she took. She was so close to that lavatory, to breathing, when she collided with something.

Or someone.

“Watch yourself, yea,” a voice said, but Camilla ignored it. She sidestepped the collision, ignoring the voice that trailed after her.

When she made it to the inside of the bathroom, she collapsed, leaning all of her body weight on the sink. Completely unaware of the other person in the room, watching her every move.

Camilla didn’t cry. Slowly, she pulled her head up and looked at herself in the mirror. She saw the same girl from the astronomy tower that night. A look of utter despair painted her face. There were dark, purple circles under her eyes. Her eyes themselves were completely void, like a victim of a dementor’s kiss. There were no tears.

Then, Camilla felt the burning. It always came when she felt guilty. Like her body wanted to remind her even more about everything she had done. A reminder that everything she was getting, she deserved. She was reaping what she’d sown.

Shaking, her right hand pulled out her wand and pointed it to her left forearm, still protected by the glamour. But Camilla could see right through the glamour. What she saw was nauseating to her. She saw the blurred outline of the dark mark. The snake that once slithered on her arm now burned at a standstill.

With her wand touched to her forearm, she began to cast her spell.

“Glacius,” she whispered, feeling the numbing cold begin to spread over her arm.

“Glacius.” The cold began to outweigh the burn.

“Glacius.” Camilla could no longer feel the burn on her arm. It wasn’t enough. It was never enough.

“Glacius.”

“Glacius.”

Maybe if she froze her arm enough times, the mark would take the hint and leave her body. Maybe if she could freeze it off completely, the arm would shatter and the mark would be gone.

Camilla didn’t notice the room starting to shake. She didn’t realize just how volatile her magic was.

But the intruder did. He watched as the sink began to crack. The faucets began to fill the room with water. He watched as she time and time again froze her arm. But he couldn’t let her destroy the bathroom. After all, he was a prefect.

“Hey. Stop that you're going to blow the whole place up,” he voiced as he stepped out of the shadow. Camilla’s wand clattered to the ground, and she didn’t make an effort to pick it up. Slowly, the witch began to turn around, facing the Slytherin student. Her right arm was visibly shaking while the left was quite blue. She didn’t say a word.

“Clearmont, wasn’t it? I don’t know what they taught you at Beauxbatons but here at Hogwarts we don’t blow up bathrooms because we miss our friends back home,” the Slytherin said, seeming a bit more on edge than expected over her vandalizing a bathroom.

Somehow, the harsh reminder that Camilla couldn’t even go and see those “friends back home” made her snap out of whatever trance seeing Potter had put her in. Camilla stared. Looking directly into the eyes of the boy standing in front of her. The void in her hazel eyes meeting the coldness in his dark brown eyes.

Without saying a word to the Slytherin, she brushed past him, exiting the bathroom and setting her path towards the Hufflepuff common room. Leaving a baffled Tom Riddle standing in the middle of the second floor girl’s bathroom.

Camilla didn’t remember if she bumped into anyone else on her way to the common room.

“Helga Hufflepuff,” she muttered under her breath as she tapped the barrels in the pattern Bridgette had shown her earlier. As she stepped into the common room, the occupants suddenly went silent and looked up at her as she walked into the room.

Camilla tried to speak but couldn’t seem to form the words. She cleared her throat to try again, but before she could speak, her roommate was rushing up to her, whisking her away to their dormitory.

“Phoenix,” Bridgette said confidently as the door to their bedroom opened. The blonde led Camilla to her bed, sitting down on the edge next to her before breaking the silence.

“Would you like to talk about it?” Bridgette asked tentatively.

“No,” Camilla replied in a terse manner, “But I need to. That boy, Charles?”

“Charlus.”

‘Right, Charlus. He reminded me of a friend of mine from the war. The friend of mine, we didn’t always see eye to eye on most matters,” Camilla softly told her roommate, trying to tell as much of the truth as she could without seeming like either a dark witch or a liar, “I don’t know what happened to him, but he was being hunted more than anyone else in the war that I knew. Whatever happened to him, it couldn’t possibly be good. And when I last saw him, we had a massive fight. The last time I saw him, we ended things on such horrible terms. I never got the chance to make it up to him or anything. Because then he was just gone in the blink of an eye. And I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again, or if he would even want to see me,” Camilla finished with a deep breath.

Bridgette didn’t say anything at first. Camilla was glad she didn’t. Instead, she reached her arms and wrapped Camilla into a hug. The two stayed like that for quite some time.

“I know I will never understand the full extent of what you’ve been through, Cami. But I am always here to listen if you want to talk to someone.”

Camilla forced a small smile onto her face. “I really do appreciate that Bridgette. I suppose I am going to need to apologize to Charlus tomorrow.”

Bridgette sat up. “Oh please don’t. The arrogance that man has is unbelievable. It’s amazing his big head and over-inflated ego can fit through any door at Hogwarts. Most people found it amusing that he was taken down a peg, and you don’t even know him.”

Camilla nodded, no longer wanting to talk, the coldness was starting to prick her arm, and she would love nothing more than to sleep off this awful waking nightmare. She slowly dragged herself across the room to change into sleepwear. Doing so without a left arm proved to be a bit of a challenge, but if Bridgette noticed something, she didn’t say anything.

Wordlessly, Camilla waved her wand over her bed, applying a silencing charm in case she had any nightmares. After the day she’d had, it would be a miracle if she didn’t have one or two.

Letting herself bask in the numbness of her arm, Camilla slowly drifted off to sleep.

Her dreams filled with piercing green-eyes and the cold dark eyes of the mysterious boy from the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love hearing from you guys so please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts! I love all of you who are reading :)


	5. Chapter 5

When Camilla woke up, the charms on her arm had worn off, but the burning had stopped as well. She had no idea what caused it to burn so sporadically, especially considering the mark wasn’t sentient anymore. The snake had ceased its slithering and faded to look like a poorly done muggle tattoo. 

Her body still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that she was no longer at war. Hence, Camilla woke up every hour, anticipating an attack. Her training had consisted of Bellatrix sneaking in while she was sleeping to catch her off-guard. And if Camilla was caught off-guard, she would be hit with a cruciatus curse before she could even attempt a shield. Because of that, Camilla slept with her wand under her pillow and a knife tucked under the side of the mattress. It was all out of habit she supposed, but she couldn’t seem to bring herself to sleep so vulnerably. 

After waking up and falling back asleep every hour, Camilla rose from her bed at 6am, long before her sleepy roommate would begin to awaken. The time traveler looked at herself in the mirror, and she hated what she saw. The war had caused her body to deteriorate. Long hours of training, mostly spent under the cruciatus curse, forced her body to crumble. Her left hand would twitch every so often, a reminder of how much she had endured at Bellatrix’s and the Dark Lord’s hands. Camilla removed her shirt to begin working on the glamour charms. She began on her left forearm, banishing the dark mark from everyone else’s sight. 

  
The burn marks on her upper arm, caused by fiendfyre, were her next step. The pink flesh formed a small but prominent burn in the shape of a crescent moon on her left shoulder. When MacNair decided the young death eaters would train with fire, Camilla should have known better than to stand anywhere near Crabbe and Goyle. Alas, she wasn’t thinking straight that day. 

Moving on from her arm, she pointed her wand at her chest, toward the area that had turned blue because of the time turner. The color hadn’t faded even a shade since the day the piece of jewelry shattered on her chest. The intricate web of blue lines flecked with small white gold specks stood out against the paleness of her skin. She muttered another charm over the area on her chest. 

She turned to the final scar to cover, a long, thick scratch on her right thigh. This was the only scar she still felt. Having the unfortunate privilege to be in the room when Greyback lost his temper, she acquired a lovely werewolf scratch to complete her set of scars. Camilla was lucky someone had stepped in before Greyback could fully turn her. That didn’t mean this wound was without its consequences. She felt achy and sore every month around the full moon. Her sense of scent was also augmented each full moon, which meant potions class would be quite difficult when that time came. 

Finished with her charms, Camilla stared back at her reflection. She looked straight into the mirror in front of her, into her eyes. The complete emptiness that had taken root in her eyes the previous night had dissipated slightly. Her eyes were still without the spark of life she’d had her first four years at Hogwarts, but it was slowly coming back she thought. Her eyes were decorated with dark circles underneath them, a very clear message to everyone that she was not sleeping. She couldn’t remember the last time she had truly gotten a good night's sleep. At least a year. 

Her body looked like decorated bones. The deterioration of her body caused by the cruciatus curse and stress of war had caused Camilla to turn into a glorified skeleton. The idea of eating had become nauseating as meals would be accompanied by entertainment back at Malfoy Manor. It was difficult to muster up an appetite when someone was being tortured and killed right in front of you. 

Not wanting to look at what little remained of her, she turned toward her closet to get changed for the day. She grabbed a clean, white, button-up shirt from her closet, sliding it up her shoulders. Her fingers worked the buttons closed. Her left hand trembled, struggling with the little buttons on the shirt. She hated how weak she had become. She bent back down into the closet to grab the knee-high socks and her skirt. She quickly tucked her shirt into the skirt and pulled the socks up over her bony legs. She threaded her yellow and black tie around her collar but didn’t tie it quite yet. 

Camilla walked over to the desk in her room and began looking at the textbook for her first class of the day, Care of Magical Creatures. She thought to herself she couldn’t stand out. She had to make sure she didn’t talk about anything that hadn’t been discovered yet. Her eyes darted across the page, skimming the passages for any information that was different than what she was taught. She was pulled from her reading by her not-so-stealthy roommate waking up. 

“Morning, Cami,” Bridgette said, barely awake, “I cannot tell you how much I hate mornings. Although, I do love breakfast, so I guess it evens out.” Bridgette’s eyes darted to look over to Cami, seeing her seated at the desk with a book out in front of her. 

“I swear Cami. You were supposed to be a Ravenclaw. No self-respecting Hufflepuff would wake up early just to read their books,” she joked. 

Camilla laughed softly. 

“I have trouble staying asleep for long. It’s a bad habit I picked up during the war. After a while, trying to go back to sleep is futile so I just decided to see what we would be learning. I haven’t studied this in a while because of everything.”

The blonde nodded as she began to get changed. Camilla packed up her bag and tied the tie around her neck as she wordlessly followed the blonde out of the room and into the Great Hall for breakfast. She exchanged pleasantries with her housemates, but inside, she was exhausted. The adrenaline from constant fighting was gone, and her mind was catching up with all the damage that had occurred. 

She absentmindedly pushed the eggs around on her plate before reaching for another roll. At least she could eat here without having to worry about the “entertainment” of her old life. She was determined to gain all the weight back that she’d lost. 

“Cami here starts with Care of Magical Creatures today. I myself hate that class because all magical creatures hate me. Therefore, I will not be able to take her to that class. Is anyone here taking that class?” Bridgette questioned the table. Camilla brought her attention back to the table of her housemates. 

“I do. I can show her to the outdoor class area,” a girl who reminded her of a shorter version of Cho said. Camilla turned to face her, slightly wincing as she couldn’t recall the girls name.

“Thank you,” Camilla replied, “And this is horribly embarrassing but could you remind me of your name. Last night was really quite a blur for me.”

“Oh of course. I’m Gina,” she smiled at her. The conversation resumed. Camilla returned to the zoned-out lull she had been in before until she saw people begin to leave the hall. 

“That’s our cue to leave,” Gina smiled at the new girl, “We want to get there early so we don’t have to watch from the back of the group. I’m one of the shortest people here and it looks like you are vertically challenged as well.” Camilla snorted in a very unlady-like way. 

“Vertically challenged?” Camilla questioned with a smirk on her face. The other girl’s cheeks flushed a bit. “I can honestly say I’ve never heard that one before,” Camilla paused, thinking for a second, “I’m definitely going to have to steal that.” She smiled at Gina as the two of them stood up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry’s look-alike at the end of the hall with a few of his friends. 

“Gina, could you give me a minute? I need to apologize to Charlus Potter for my behavior last night.”

“Oh please, he’ll be fine,” Gina snorted. 

“I’m sure he will be. I still feel bad,” Camilla countered. She left Gina standing slightly outside the Great Hall as she approached the group of boys. They noticed her immediately as she walked up to them. One of his friends nudged Charlus in the side, and he turned to face the approaching girl. 

“Well, well, well. Can you be around me now?” Charlus said in a teasing manner. The blood rushed to Camilla’s cheeks as her words from the previous night were thrown back in her face. 

Camilla tripped over her words a few times, still in shock over how much he looked like Harry. 

  
“I was wondering if I could speak with you in private?” The other boys surrounding Charlus looked at him with a knowing look as a signature Potter grin appeared on Charlus’ face. 

“Who am I to say no to a beautiful girl like you,” Charlus said as he followed Camilla down a corridor to chat. Camilla didn’t react to his comment, letting it brush over her. She came to a stop when they were finally isolated. 

“I wanted to apologize for my rude behavior yesterday. You bear a striking resemblance to a friend — a person I knew before I came but I hadn’t seen them in a long time, even during the war. The two of us ended on less than amicable terms and seeing you just brought it all up again and reminded me that I may never,” Camilla’s voice began to trail off as she took a deep breath, “It just caught be off guard. I apologize.”

“I must admit. It’s nice to hear that you running off wasn’t just your reaction to me,” Charlus weakly said, obviously not expecting Camilla’s emotional confession. “I’m sorry about your friend. My offer for a tour of the school grounds still stands. Or if you ever want to talk about that friend of yours. I’ve been told I’ve got a lovely shoulder to cry on.”

“Cheeky one, aren’t you,” Camilla laughed softly, under her breath. “I may take you up on that tour later, but right now I do have to get to class. Maybe I’ll see you later,” Camilla offered to the boy.

“I sure hope so. I’ll see you around,” Charlus winked as he strutted back over to his friends with a slight grin on his face. Camilla walked back over to Gina. Gina looked at her and raised her eyebrows suggestively. 

“That went about as good as you and Bridgette guessed,” Camilla admitted, “He’s certainly something.”

“I told you,” Gina laughed at the other girl’s slight confusion, “His ego is too big for his own good. It’s a shame he’s a damn good quidditch player. All those adoring fans certainly aren’t helping his ego problem. Enough about Potter, to Care of Magical Creatures!” Gina nearly shouted as she jumped around Camilla before grabbing her hand and running her down the hall towards the large opening. She vaguely heard the reprimand of a teacher as they raced quickly through the corridor. Not paying much attention to where she was going, she, quite literally, had her second run-in with the Slytherin from the other night. 

Camilla winced as she collided with someone. Camilla looked up, cringing, only to find she was staring back up into the dark eyes from the other night. 

_ “Not him again,”  _ Camilla thought to herself. Expecting the same, cold demeanour from the previous night, Camilla was surprised to see a small smile on the boy’s face. Although, the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“Are you alright? That’s the second time you’ve ran into me,” the boy asked Camilla, not angrily. Camilla couldn’t put a finger on what emotion it was. She looked over to see Gina just looking at the other boy. The quite talkative girl was silent for once. 

“Sorry,” Camilla paused trying to remember if they’d been introduced, “Um- I don’t know your name-”

“Tom Riddle”

“Right, sorry Tom. I- We were just really excited for class. We weren’t looking where we were going.” He looked at her, as if he was expecting an explanation for the previous night. His eyes continued to bore into her. “Last night was a rough night so I apologize for not looking where I was going, and for almost well,” she looked over to see the other girl seemed unnecessarily interested in what she was going to say. She didn’t want to admit she had lost control of her magic. “Well, you know what else.” Camilla was getting quite sick of apologizing to everyone. 

Tom nodded back at her, “Apology accepted. I suppose I’ll see you around. Ms. George,” he addressed the girl standing awkwardly to the side as he walked off to wherever he was going. As he left, Camilla turned back to face Gina. 

“Who is that?” Camilla asked. 

“That, my friend, is Tom Riddle. The favourite of every teacher, except maybe Dumbledore. He’s brilliant. Everyone in Ravenclaw half hates him and half admires him because of how smart he is. Not to mention, he’s bloody gorgeous. Before you even ask, he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“I wasn’t going to ask. He just seemed a bit off to me,” Camilla admitted to Gina. 

“I assure you, he’s not. He’s the perfect student, even though he is a Slytherin. He’s one of the more polite one’s, as far as snakes go that is. He’s the Slytherin prefect, and there’s no debate he’ll make Head Boy next year for sure,” Gina continued to sing Tom Riddle’s praises as they made their way to the other students congregated around the creature of study today. Camilla followed as the short girl pulled her hand to the front of the class. Camilla gasped at the sight of the creature. The creature had a dragon-like face, with a white-gray shimmering scaly coat and two large wings to match. Camilla’s eyes were glued to the dragon version of a pegasus in front of her. She couldn’t seem to place what it was. 

“I promise. This class is usually really interesting,” Gina said, seemingly trying to convince Camilla, “Maybe next time there will be something. There usually is when we get to class. It’s a game to guess what creature we are studying.” Camilla looked at her quizzically. 

“Gina, what are you on about? It’s right there,” she pointed towards the animal in front of her, as it turned its head towards Camilla. 

“Cami, nothing’s there-” Gina was cut off by the teacher beginning class. 

“Good morning everyone. I’m sure you are all wondering what we will be starting off your new unit with this year.”

Thestrals. Of course it was thestrals. She’d seen enough death to be able to see thestrals for everyone in the class. 

“I see the look on all of your faces. I promise you, this will be an interesting creature, although it may be difficult for you all to see,” the professor said with a twinkle in his eye. Camilla looked around the other students to see that almost everyone looked confused. Everyone was staring aimlessly in front of them, not knowing what they were supposed to be seeing. 

“Would anyone like to take a guess as to what this animal is?” He looked around the class, seeming unsurprised that nobody knew. “Nobody?” Camilla glanced around her, realizing nobody else even knew. She raised her hand. The professor looked surprised.

“Thank you for volunteering, Ms.- oh, you must be Ms. Clearmont. I’m Professor Kettleburn. I do like to pick some lesser known creatures to study,” he told her. Camilla understood his message loud and clear: You don’t know what this animal is. Camilla heard her fellow students whispering behind her. 

“Watch this. She’s gonna make a fool of herself on the first day,” a boy with pale blond hair said to his friend next to him. Ignoring him, Camilla turned back to the teacher. 

“You’ve brought a thestral.” Professor Kettleburn blinked slowly at the new student. 

“That’s correct, 10 points to Hufflepuff,” he said, surprised she knew the answer. The students behind her began to shift and mutter to one another. “Can anyone tell me any facts about thestrals?”

She saw the hand of a girl in a blue tie. 

“Yes, Ms. Selwyn.”

“Thestrals are omens of death. They can smell blood,” she said, haughtily. Camilla tried her best to suppress a snort. Everything about this girl screamed Granger from first year. The same know-it-all behavior, the same stuck-up attitude. Except Granger had outgrown hers for the most part, by the time Camilla had left. 

The other classmates seemed to agree with the Selwyn girl. Camilla raised her hand once more. 

“Yes, Ms. Clearmont. Do you have something to add?” the Professor asked.

“Yes Professor. The only reason they are seen as an omen of death is because people can only see them if they’ve witnessed a death that left an impact on them,” Camilla said. She could almost feel the stare of her classmates as she stopped talking. She hated the attention from the other students. 

“Can you see thestrals, Ms. Clearmont?” the Professor asked, in a rather brash manner. 

  
That was all it took for Camilla to get trapped inside her mind. 

_ Cedric Diggory’s body at the Triwizard Tournament as Harry sobbed over it.  _

_ Sydney Snyde’s body at Malfoy Manor after his role in the failure at the Department of Mysteries. All the kids were forced to watch, the message was clear. Mess up and this will be you.  _

_ Albus Dumbledore being thrown across the Astronomy Tower, at her own hand.  _

_ Stan Shunpike falling off of his broom at the raid on 14 Privet Drive.  _

_ Professor Charity Burbage hanging over the dining table at Malfoy Manor before a dinner “celebration.”  _

_ Mary Finch-Fletchey, her classmate Justin’s muggle mother, who was caught. _

_ Countless muggles who were killed for sport by the Dark Lord.  _

_ The lives she had taken in battle.  _

The other students watched as Camilla’s eyes glazed over while her mind trapped her inside of her memories. As quickly as she had been sucked into her past, she snapped out of it. Shaking her head slightly, blinking quickly, she looked back at the teacher. 

“Yes. Don’t ask me how,” Camilla’s voice was scathing, so much so that the professor visibly flinched. 

“Right then,” Professor Kettleburn cleared his throat, trying to steer the class away from the tense situation he’d created. “Would anyone else like to add anything about thestrals?” He looked around. “No? Very well then. I am assigning a group research paper on thestrals. Before you start partnering up, I’ve already assigned the partners.” 

Camilla felt Gina reach down and squeeze her hand. When she looked up, she was met with the worried eyes of her new friend. Her new friend that would never go near her if she’d known even half of what Camilla had done. Camilla squeezed back slightly as she turned her attention back to the professor who was listing off people’s names. 

_ “  _ .... Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Clearmont…” Of course, Camilla couldn’t have one hour of peace. She would be facing another ghost from her past. She looked around for a head of pale hair before remembering she shouldn’t know what a Malfoy looked like. 

“Gina,” she whispered, “Who is Malfoy?”

“Ha. You can’t miss him. Ignoring the pompous pureblood persona, he has literally white hair. Right over there,” Gina pointed to a boy with pointy features that reeked of daddy’s money. 

“Ah, lovely,” Camilla grumbled, “Anything I should know about him?”

“Well, he’s a massive pureblood supremacist. He’s the cruel version of Charlus Potter. See, both Charlus and Abraxas know they are attractive. While Charlus is a shameless flirt, he isn’t cruel. Abraxas will use that attraction for his own benefit.” Camilla blinked back at Gina, surprised at how much she’d picked up on, “What?” Gina continued, “Nobody pays attention to the Hufflepuff. We notice things.”

“Of course,” the brunette replied teasingly as she walked over to Malfoy. He didn’t look up from the book he was looking at. Camilla stood next to him silently. If he wanted to ignore her, so be it. She took a seat on the bench next to him, pulled out a quill and parchment and began to jot down everything she knew about thestrals. The scratch of the quill on the parchment captured the blond boy’s attention. 

“What are you doing Clearmont?”

“I’m just writing down what I already know about thestrals,” she said offhandedly. 

“What you know about them?” he repeated back at her, staring shocked, “Did you study them at Beauxbatons?”

“What?” Camilla replied for a moment, forgetting her cover story, “Oh. Yes. I’ve worked with them before. Thestrals are really strong, dependent flyers.”

“You’ve rode on a thestral before?” Malfoy questioned doubtedly. 

“Yes,” Camilla replied, turning to fully face the other boy. “It’s like riding a hippogriff but a bit less scary because thestrals don’t have the massive complex that hippogriffs have.”

“You’ve rode a hippogriff?”

“Yes,” she bit back a grin, remembering his ancestors' reaction to a hippogriff. 

“Bullshit.” Camilla rolled her eyes at his reaction. 

“I’m going to ignore that,” Camilla said matter-of-factly, “There’s nothing I can do to prove it. About that essay, I know enough about them that I think we can finish the essay in 2 hours if we work hard. Could you meet in the library after dinner?”

“Sure, fine. 7?”

“That works,” Camilla said, as she stood up from the bench. “I’ll see you there, Malfoy.”

“Yeah, bye Clearmont.”

Camilla turned around and walked back up to the castle. The burning in her arm had gotten to an almost unbearable point. The pain had been slowly increasing throughout the whole lesson. 

_ “I can’t escape my mistakes no matter when I go,”  _ she thought to herself, unable to figure out why her arm was burning so badly. She turned into an empty corridor in search of an empty classroom. She flung the door open and quickly locked the door and cast a basic warding spell around it. 

“ _ Glacius _ ” she pointed her wand at her left forearm, instantly feeling the cold begin to counteract the burn. Pulling her sleeve back down over her freezing arm, she took down the wards she’d set up and made her way to the Great Hall for lunch. 

As she sat down at the Hufflepuff table, she was surrounded by her kind housemates once more. The jovial nature of their conversations made her miss her friends back home. They had never been as high-spirited or optimistic as these students were, but they had all gotten along. More importantly, they’d all understood what each other had done, and they didn’t judge each other. 

She couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. Shivering a bit, she tried to push the paranoia back down. 

_ “The war isn’t happening anymore Cami. Calm down. Nobody is attacking you, _ ” she tried to remind herself. Still, she couldn’t push away the feeling of unease she had. She put up her occlumency shields as she ate. 

From across the Great Hall, dark eyes from the Slytherin table were staring at the back of the Hufflepuff’s head. 


End file.
